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The real social you

Despite persistent urging from her teenage daughter to join the newest social network, Kristine Nowak thinks that on the surface, the claims Google Plus is making to be something completely new are kind of a hoax.

“I see very little new in Google Plus,” she says. “I don’t see anything that Google Plus is doing that Facebook isn’t doing — though they may do some things better.”

But, she’s quick to add, having nothing new to offer to today’s social media world might not matter in the least. What matters, she says, is people’s perception of novelty.

“Innovations don’t have to be new. They just have to be thought of as new,” she says, adding that this concept is a basic principle of communication science.

And she should know. Nowak, associate professor and section head in CLAS’s communication sciences department, studies how different types of media – advertisers, social networks, technologies – are created, marketed, and perceived.

Communication scientists accept that several factors need to be in place for an innovation to be successful, says Nowak. People have to first know about the new technology, and once they hear about it, they assess whether it will fill a need in their lives. They then try it out, and if they believe it’s easy enough to use and fulfills their need, they may adopt it.

Given these requirements, it’s very easy for even an important breakthrough to be glossed over. Only about five percent of innovations succeed, Nowak says.

Will people switch?

In the case of Google Plus, which allows easy creation of social groups and a cleaner, ad-free interface, Nowak thinks that the social network could be successful in convincing the public of its novelty. But getting people to move from their social network of choice – in most cases, Facebook – could be a difficult endeavor. “To convince people that it’s worth the cost of switching from what they already use will be hard,” says Nowak. On the other hand, she notes, many people don’t think critically about whether an innovation is useful or just a fad. Companies spend billions trying to persuade their customers to do things or buy products, so Nowak encourages media literacy: the ability to evaluate messages from various media outlets. “For the most part, Americans aren’t informed of this theory,” she says.

Evaluating avatars

Nowak started her career in politics, where she was fascinated by the power of persuasion. In particular, she wondered, how does the medium in which a message is delivered can affect the message itself? Phone calls and door-to-door canvassing are tried-and-true ways to deliver a candidate’s message. That’s because if that person at your door or on the other end of the line seems credible, says Nowak, the message often seems credible too. Today Nowak studies the same concept on the Web. People represent themselves online by using a graphic, and Nowak is interested in the credibility of these avatars. “There’s a high level of confidence in your perception of someone when meeting face-to-face. But are people honest in their self preservation online?” she asks. Her research has found that although people can make any likeness of themselves online, most people choose icons that are honest about who they are or what they’re like in the online community. “There’s no more attempt to deceive than in real life – if they’re short, they don’t pick a tall avatar so they seem tall,” she says. “Sometimes people focus on how an avatar differs from a person physically, instead of looking at what the person wanted to present.” Often, says Nowak, people choose avatars that represent some aspect of their personality instead of their physical appearance. People who like sports often use avatars that include sports equipment, or musicians use musical instruments. Like political candidates, the nature of an avatar can affect the message it conveys, and people may stereotype a person or an entity based on their icon. Nowak’s future research will focus on the characteristics of avatars that are most persuasive to people, such as iconic advertising personalities. Nowak hopes to work with UConn’s new Center for Digital Media to create digital representations of particular characteristics of avatars. “UConn’s virtual reality research could be really benefit from this center,” Nowak says.

Risking innovation

As for Google Plus, the jury is still out for Nowak – it’s too soon to predict success or failure in an industry that can take up to 20 years for innovations to take hold, she says. But even if Google isn’t successful in convincing the public that it needs its online community, that won’t be the end of the world, she notes. “Failure’s not a bad thing. Companies have to try new things and throw things out there in order to find new innovations,” she says. “Companies only fail when they stop trying to come up with new innovations, because then they will be left behind.”

Join us for a talk by Gina Barreca,2018 UCONN BOARD OF TRUSTEESDISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH

All great works of fiction, poetry and dramaâas well as texts forming mythologies, religions, national epics to heroic sagasâhave loneliness at the heart of their narrative. From Persephone to Peter Pan, from âFrankensteinâ to âFrozen,â the stories we pass along are saturated with unwilling isolation.âOnly around half of Americans say they have meaningful, daily face-to-face social interactions,â according to a 2017 study. A former U.S. Surgeon General argues that âWe live in the most technologically connected age in the history of civilization, yet rates of loneliness have doubled since the 1980s.â We need more than social media. We need social contact. We need community. How can we break through the loneliness barrier? Being alone when in need of companionship is more than sad; itâs an epidemic.Chronic loneliness is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. We need to change our national story and, often, our personal ones as well.Even the concept of the âlone wolfâ is a myth. Wolves hunt in packs.

Reception to follow.

For more information about this event, or if you are an individual who requires special accommodation to participate, please contact the CLAS Deanâs Office at (860) 486-2713.

A liberal arts and sciences degree prepares students with the tools they need to excel across a wide range of careers. Given the number of options available to you, it can be overwhelming to narrow down career choices. Attending CLAS Career Night will provide you exposure to career opportunities for CLAS students.

This semesterâs focus will be on research-based careers. During this event you will engage with CLAS alumni, learn about various occupations, and gain insight about how to best prepare for your future career.

The McNair Scholars Program and the Office of Undergraduate Research invite you to join us for a brown bag research seminar.

Birds, Bacteria, and Bioinformatics: Why Evolutionary Biology is the Best

Sarah Hird, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology

This series is open to all undergraduate and graduate students, and is designed especially for students conducting (or interested in conducting) STEM research. These seminars are opportunities to learn about research being pursued around campus, to talk with faculty about their path into research, and to ask questions about getting involved in research.

About CLAS

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the academic core of learning and research at UConn. We are committed to the full spectrum of academics across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. We give students a liberal arts and sciences education that empowers them with broad knowledge, transferable skills, and an ability to think critically about important issues across a variety of disciplines.